Two-time mountain bike marathon world champions Andreas Seewald and Henrique Avancini, Paris-Roubaix winner Alison Jackson and 2026 Gravel World Championships bronze medallist Larissa Hartog will join defending champions Matt Beers and Axelle Dubau-Prévot at the Nedbank Gravel Burn 2026, starting in Robert Sobukwe Town / Graaff-Reinet on Sunday, 25 October.

Edition #2 of Gravel Burn, which covers 750km through the Great Karoo over seven days, has attracted a field with victories on the cobbles of northern France, the gravel roads of Kansas and the challenging trails of the Cape Epic.

“Stage racing in the Karoo is a different kind of test – it demands patience, resilience and smart racing as much as firepower – we can’t wait to see how the race unfolds.”

In year two, as was the case at the inaugural edition, the event has attracted the world’s most competitive field in gravel stage racing, bringing together established champions and emerging contenders.

A Stacked Men’s Field

Beers, fresh off a ninth-place finish at the recent Gravel World Championships in Australia, returns with the advantage of knowing what it takes to win Gravel Burn and with the desire to fend off any challengers on home soil.

The popular South African star claimed the title in 2025 and arrives this year with another major stage race victory behind him, having won his fourth Cape Epic – alongside fellow South African Tristan Nortje – in March. Beers followed that victory up with consistent performances at international gravel and mountain bike races this year.

Nortje, the 25-year-old fourth-place finisher at Gravel Burn 2025, is also on the start list, as is Marc Pritzen, giving local supporters three of South African cycling’s strongest riders to cheer for during the week’s racing. Pritzen, national marathon champion, stage winner at Cape Epic and winner of the 2022 Cape Town Cycle Tour, comes into the race in red-hot form and will look to end his excellent 2026 season on a high.

The riders racing on home soil won’t have it all their own way, though. A stacked international field will roll into town, hoping to thwart the local favourites and ride away with honours from Shamwari Private Game Reserve after seven days of high-octane racing.

Brazil’s Henrique Avancini finished 11th at the Gravel World Championships and brings the firepower that won him two marathon world titles to his first Gravel Burn. No stranger to South African conditions, Avancini is a multiple podium finisher at Cape Epic, and his handling skills and race pedigree will push the racing to the limit.

In Germany’s Andreas Seewald, who won his second marathon world title in September this year, Gravel Burn showcases a five-star competitor who knows how to dig deep and suffer over long distances. Seewald’s presence will ensure the racing remains dynamic and tactical throughout.

Switzerland’s Simon Pellaud will look to go one better in 2026 after finishing second to Beers last year. Runner-up at Unbound Gravel 200 and second overall in the Life Time Grand Prix in 2025, Pellaud has already shown that his experience in the professional road peloton (riding for Tudor Pro Cycling until 2024) transfers well to long days on gravel.

Germany’s Lukas Baum, a former Cape Epic winner, returns after finishing fifth at Gravel Burn 2025. Switzerland’s Filippo Colombo arrives in top form after a podium finish at the final round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in the USA, and brings the explosive speed of a World Cup racer to his Gravel Burn campaign.

France’s Hugo Drechou, Switzerland’s Andri Frischknecht and the Netherlands’ Hans Becking add further depth to a men’s field that also includes the Netherlands’ Mathijs Loman, American Griffin Easter and Belgium’s Lawrence Naesen. Pritzen’s Cape Epic teammate Felix Stehli, fresh off a solid finish at the Gravel World Championships and two stage wins alongside Pritzen at the 2026 Swiss Epic, will also make his debut in the Great Karoo this year.

A Women’s Field with Proven Winners

French rider Axelle Dubau-Prévot returns after producing one of the defining performances of the inaugural race. The 2025 winner started last year’s final stage almost nine minutes off the overall lead, then overturned that deficit to claim the title at Shamwari Private Game Reserve. Her return sets up another contest where the competitive racing will be likely to go down to the wire once more.

Canada’s Alison Jackson brings the pedigree of her 2023 Paris-Roubaix victory to the race. Elena Hartmann is a three-time Swiss champion (time-trial) and finished both the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia last year. Nathalie Eklund has won the Swedish national gravel title twice, while Germany’s Carolin Schiff won 2023 Unbound Gravel 200. All have proved themselves in races where endurance, positioning and handling difficult conditions are essential.

Jackson’s vibrant personality will also be a feature of the week. A fierce competitor who races with a smile, the Canadian brings an infectious enthusiasm for life on and off the bike that adds a healthy dose of fun to the race proceedings.

The recent Gravel World Championships in Australia provided another measure of the quality heading to South Africa and the Gravel Burn start line. The Netherlands’ Larissa Hartog claimed bronze, Germany’s Nele Laing finished fourth and Switzerland’s Irina Lützelschwab took seventh. All three will make their Gravel Burn debuts this month, alongside Schiff, who finished 11th at the Gravel World Championships.

Germany’s Jade Treffeisen and Canadian rider Sarah Diekmeyer also raced at the Gravel World Championships and will join a field featuring South Africa’s Hayley Preen, as well as the USA’s Alexis Skarda, Great Britain’s Isla Short and Germany’s Clara Koppenburg.

Preen, third at Gravel Burn 2025 by mere seconds, has spent the season racing between South Africa and the United States and currently sits fourth overall in the Life Time Grand Prix series. She finished fourth at Little Sugar earlier in October behind Skarda, who is lying in eighth place on the Life Time Grand Prix standings.

The relatively new stage race tests the world’s best riders over a full week of gravel, against a remote and starkly beautiful backdrop. Gravel Burn founder Kevin Vermaak said, “It’s great to welcome back both defending champions alongside world champions, a Paris-Roubaix winner and a Gravel World Championships medallist in only our second year. Stage racing in the Karoo is a different kind of test – it demands patience, resilience and smart racing as much as firepower – we can’t wait to see how the race unfolds.”

With both defending champions returning and challengers drawn from the top levels of road, mountain bike and gravel racing, the 2026 edition offers a compelling sporting contest. Racing starts on 25 October and concludes at Shamwari Private Game Reserve on Saturday, 31 October.

You can follow the race: information, daily results, stories and highlights at www.gravel-burn.com

See complete 2026 startlist HERE

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